Europe 2019 - Day 47 (Part 2)

22 June 2019, Saturday

Next, to the Church of St Jacob or the Parish Church. It is a late Gothic hall building, expanded in 1471 on the foundations of a smaller, about 200-year-old church. 

Then to the Mark or Sign of St Mary which is a baroque mark with 3 statues sculpted in 1751 from the local Conglomerate rock as a token of gratitude from the protection of plague and fire. The plinth in the form of an altar holds the statues of St Roch and St Anthony, while the main column carries the statue of Mary. Further up the square there is an old stone fountain that is still in use. It was built in 1883 and it is shaped like a square prism with 2 shells. A pitcher and the coat of arms are added for decoration. 

 Next, to the Old Town Hall. This used to be the most eminent building of the Town Square, from the 16th century, situated just behind the Mark or Sign of St Mary. It was the meeting point of the town representatives, with the town judges as the main figure. There are several paintings and architectural elements on the exterior, underlining the historic importance of this building. After a large fire in 2014, the facade was renovated and a small copper bell was installed on top, exactly where it used to stand many years ago. 

Then to the Nun’s Church or the Church of Mary Immaculate which is situated beneath the Castle of Škofja Loka. It is said that they are connected by a hidden passage. The Church was built in 1358 but it was rebuilt to its current Baroque style after the fire in 1669. There is a nunnery adjacent to the church, hence its name. Before 1782, the nunnery used to be operated by the Clarissa nuns, but was taken over by the Ursulines, who opened a girls’ school in the Castle and were said to be the first to introduce basketball in Slovenia.

Then to the Castle of Škofja Loka, but we only viewed it from a distance as we didn’t go up the hill. There were people here dressed in medieval costumes - I think they would offer various services to tourists but today they didn’t have anything to do on account of the rain. The first castle was constructed by the bishops of Freising shortly after they received the territory. The document from 1202 describes the castle as a very firm castle of Loka. It was managed by an administrator or chieftain (who was in charge of the town in the absence of the bishop) and it was the bishop’s residence when he came to visit. The Castle was almost completely destroyed in the 1511 earthquake but it was renovated by bishop Filip. Today it is the Museum of Škofja Loka.

Then, as it was still raining, Ms Impatience was eager to head back to Ljubljana although I wanted to see more things. As we were making our way back to the bus station, all I could manage was to see some points of interest from a distance. One of these is the Capuchin Bridge. 

This bridge was built by bishop Leopold in the middle of the 14th century. Legend has it that this same bishop wanted to ride across the then fenceless stone bridge, but he was asked to pay the toll for crossing his own bridge, so he got upset. This startled his horse and they both fell off the bridge and drowned. The bridge was restored in 1888, when it was equipped with an iron fence and a statue of St John of Nepomuk, the patron saint of bridges. The bridge is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe, being about 600 years old. In the Middle Ages, one of the 5 entrances to the city called the Selca’s gate was situated next to the bridge.

In the immediate vicinity of the Capuchin bridge is the Capuchin Church, with its monastery and library. The Church was built in Baroque style in 1709. The oldest preserved theatre script written in the Slovene language, called The Škofja Loka Passion Play by Friar Romuald is kept in this library. It depicts the story of mankind, from Adam and Eve in Paradise to Christ’s suffering and some scenes from the local history. It is now performed as a passion procession through the streets of Škofja Loka once every 6 years.